Line #1 Literature/Traces


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6	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/traces_roll_call.png]]
7
8	''Traces'' is a series of seven ScienceFiction crime novels by Malcolm Rose. They center around sixteen-year-old Forensic Investigator Luke Harding and his partner in law, the Mobile Aid to Law and Crime (or Malc for short), as they solve crimes in an alternate England where blacks are the majority race and the southern parts of the country are derelict slums.
9
10	The series starts with Luke passing his FI examination, only to quickly be thrust into his first case when a series of murders occur in the school that all seem to point to him being the perpetrator. After solving the case, he's stationed in London due to the abundance of crimes in the South, which puts pressure on his already forbidden relationship with LoveInterest Jade Vernon.
11
12	!!!Books in the series:
13	* ''Framed!''
14	* ''Lost Bullet''
15	* ''Roll Call''
16	* ''Double Check''
17	* ''Final Lap''
18	* ''Blood Brother''
19	* ''Murder Club''
20
21	The final book in the series, ''Murder Club'', was released as an e-book in 2013.
22	----
23	!!''Traces'' provides examples of:
24	* AndroidsAndDetectives: Technology in the ''Traces'' universe is such that each Forensic Investigator is paired with a robot companion that assists them in investigating and analyzing clues. Luke's robot companion is known as Malc, who is always straight-laced in contrast to Luke's more genial behavior.
25	* BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage: Pairings work this way, with the government pairing people up on the basis of how compatible their careers are. It becomes a source of conflict in many of the books, most notably between Luke and Jade, a detective and a musician who weren't paired up by the system but love each other regardless.
26	%%* BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible: Ms. Thacket
27	* BluffingTheMurderer: Luke does this to force a confession out of [[spoiler: Ed]] in ''Framed!''.
28	* BrilliantButLazy: Luke was this in his school days, acing his classes despite putting little actual work into them. Mildly deconstructed in that some students resent him for it.
29	* BuriedAlive: In ''Final Lap'', the culprit knocks out Luke and then ties him up at the bottom of a hole at the construction site. Had Jade not intervened, then Luke would've gotten buried in wet concrete.
30	%%* ChekhovsBoomerang: The plane crash mentioned at the start of ''Double Check''.
31	%%* ChekhovsGun:
32	%%** The bags of rats that Ian Pritchard collected in ''Final Lap''.
33	%%** The javelin in ''Framed!''.
34	* ChekhovsNews: The tsunami in ''Roll Call'' is made mention of sparingly throughout the novel, until the climax where it arrives and Luke has to find a way to survive it.
35	%%* CoolTeacher: Instructor Cadman.
36	%%* CorruptBureaucrat: [[spoiler: Nicoletta Boniwell]] is in fact NOT one.
37	* DeadPersonImpersonation: In ''Double Check'', [[spoiler: Camilla]] briefly assumes the identity of [[spoiler: Farrah Bruce]] after she kills her.
38	%%* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: Vince Wainright's death is this.
39	* DetectiveMole: All the evidence in ''Framed!'' points to the case's investigator, Luke, being the culprit. Subverted in that he's innocent and proving it is the impetus of the novel.
40	%%* DisposingOfABody: [[spoiler: Ian Pritchard]]'s victims are disposed of particularly unpleasantly.
41	* DisproportionateRetribution: Luke made a fool of Ed Hoffman, by tampering with his javelin, so his reaction was, naturally, to [[spoiler:kill three people, or pawns as he called them, in an attempt to destroy Luke's life]].
42	* EndangeredSpecies: Cats and dogs. A cat smuggling operation was even central [[spoiler:though a RedHerring]] to the plot of ''Framed!''
43	%%* EurekaMoment: Luke's discovery of the connection between the murder weapons in ''Framed!''.
44	%%* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler: Camilla in ''Double Check''. She tries it again during the investigation, but Luke isn't fooled.]]
45	%%* FiredTeacher: Rick Glenfield.
46	* {{Foil}}: Luke and Malc for one another. Malc is an emotionless robot, which allows the more personable Luke to bounce off him in humorous ways.
47	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Ian's line to Luke about the foundations in ''Final Lap''. Sets up the climax where [[spoiler:Ian kidnaps Luke and tries to bury him alive in wet concrete.]]
48	--> '''Ian:''' I don't want to be down there when they start to lay the foundations, do I? That wouldn't be much fun.
49	* {{Frameup}}:
50	** Luke is framed for triple murder in ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Framed!]]'', and has to work to prove his innocence.
51	** PlayedWith in ''Double Check''; Luke thinks Everton was framed for Rowan's murder, but it turns out [[spoiler:that he had been hit by lightning, which caused him to have a spastic fit in the already murdered Rowan's apartment, which is why nearly all evidence pointed to him.]]
52	* FunWithAcronyms: The forensic robots in the series are called Malc, short for '''M'''obile '''A'''id to '''L'''aw and '''C'''rime.
53	%%* HerosFirstRescue: [[spoiler: Luke's rescue of [=EW4=] in ''Roll Call'']].
54	%%* HolyIsNotSafe: The [[spoiler: snake]] in ''Lost Bullet''.
55	* IdentificationByDentalRecords: Luke uses this technique to narrow down the options in his final exams in ''Framed!''.
56	%%* ImpersonatingAnOfficer: Jade, briefly. It's noted that she could get into trouble for doing so.
57	* INeverSaidItWasPoison:
58	** In ''Framed!'', Luke never says the third murder weapon is a glass cutter. [[spoiler:Ed Hoffman]], on the other hand, does seem to know. Make of that what you will.
59	** In ''Roll Call'', Q, when they are discovered, says that [=EW4=] is a 'girl' when Luke had not said how old she was.
60	** In ''Double Check'', [[spoiler:Camilla almost lets slip that she knew Lee [=MacArthur=] had died, yet there was supposed to be no contact between the two after he had given her a new identity]].
61	* IWillFindYou: Luke goes missing near the end of ''Final Lap''. The perspective then switches to his girlfriend Jade, who does everything in her power to track him down.
62	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Happens to Everton in ''Double Check'', who can't remember the murder he's being pinned for. [[spoiler:It's revealed that he's innocent and was struck by lighting at the crime scene, which can cause memory deficits in some cases.]]
63	%%* LastMinuteReprieve: For [[spoiler: Everton Kohter]].
64	%%* LetOffByTheDetective: Holly Queenan.
65	* LiteralMinded: Malc isn't programmed to understand sarcasm or turn-of-phrases, something that both humors and frustrates his human companion.
66	* LocardsTheory: Seen several times. Most pertinent in ''Framed!'', where a slight contact from [[spoiler:Ed Hoffman]] when he was poisoning Ms. Kee left her with a flake of white paint, two blue denim fibres, six fine particles of magnesite, a smear of wax, and a deposit of sawdust on her right side.
67	%%* MurderByCremation: [[spoiler: The fate of Libby Byrne]].
68	%%* NeverOneMurder
69	* NonActionGuy: While Luke is physically fit and often chases down suspects, Malc is usually the one to combat violence.
70	* NonHumanSidekick: The main character is the human Luke Harding, while his parter in crime is Malc, a small robot that assists him in solving cases and protects him from violent criminals.
71	* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Despite Malc and the Authorities telling him several times to leave London while he still can before the tsunami hits, Luke ignores them in order to first ensure Owen Goode and his band of scraps gets to safety, and then, after another warning to leave, ascends a crane in an incredibly risky (though ultimately successful) attempt to save [=EW4=], who he didn't have time to carry to high ground conventionally.
72	%%* OmniscientDatabase: Malc has these for training exercises. Unhelpfully, he doesn't for the real world.
73	* ParentalAbandonment: After children are sent to school they aren't supposed to see their parents again. Subverted in ''Blood Brother'' where Luke's parents appear, and also in ''Roll Call' where Earl Dimmock mentions visiting his.
74	* PersecutionFlip: While discrimination is not a major theme of the series, it's white people who are the discriminated-against minority in the ''Traces'' universe.
75	%%* PreacherMan: Ethan Loach.
76	* ReverseWhodunnit: ''Framed!'', ''Roll Call'' and ''Final Lap'' all have very small clues that should help to make the discovery of who the murderer is possible before Luke makes it.
77	%%* RobotBuddy: Malc.
78	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Luke and Jade. Luke is an intelligent detective while Jade, his girlfriend, is an upbeat musician.
79	%%* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: The Authorities, at times.
80	* SmokingIsCool: Inverted; smoking is illegal in the Traces verse.
81	* SnarkyNonhumanSidekick: Malc doesn't intend to be snarky towards Luke, but his [[TheComicallySerious deadpan responses]] to Luke's shenanigans can come off as such.
82	%%* SympatheticMurderer: [[spoiler: Bob Beckham]]
83	* TakingTheBullet: Malc does this three times for Luke; taking a knife in ''Framed!'', a bullet in ''Lost Bullet'' and a tree branch in ''Final Lap''. Justified in that Luke's safety is Malc's second priority after upholding the law.
84	* TakingYouWithMe: When Luke confronts [[spoiler: Ed Hoffman]] in ''Framed!'', he is told that since he had [[spoiler: Ed]] for triple murder anyway, killing Luke as well wouldn't change anything.
85	%%* TalkerAndDoer
86	%%* TalkingApplianceSidekick: Malc.
87	* TeenGenius: Luke is the youngest person to become a Forensic Investigator. Naturally people point out how he's a [[JustAKid bit young]] to be an investigator.
88	%%* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler: Ian Pritchard]], AND [[spoiler: Mr Morgan, the blinking hotel receptionist]]. And the identity of Q, also.
89	* TheStoic: Malc doesn't feel emotions at all, due to being a robot, which is used to contrast Luke's more humane approach to solving crimes.
90	%%* ThemeSerialKiller: [[spoiler: Ed Hoffman, Emily Wonder, and perhaps Bob Beckham if one can call him a [[SerialKiller serial killer]]]].
91	* TokenWhite: Whites are the minority in the ''Traces'' universe, so coming across a white person is rarer than it would be in real life. As a result, Owen Goode is the only recurring white character.
92	* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Pomegranates for Luke. Finding a hotel that serves them is a running theme after ''Framed!''.
93	* WritingIndentationClue: Used by Luke in ''Double Check'' to work out [[spoiler: Camilla Bunker's new identity]].

Context Literature / Traces